First-Place Tie Is All in How You Look at It

The first round of the Orange Empire Conference baseball race is over, and Saddleback and Rancho Santiago are tied in first place.

Well, maybe.

It all depends on an upcoming decision from conference Commissioner T. Mark Johnson.

The game in question involves Rancho Santiago at Saddleback. The teams met in Mission Viejo Feb. 26, but the game was stopped because of darkness in the top of the 12th inning with a runner on first, a 2-0 count on the Rancho Santiago batter and no outs.

The game was ruled a tie and is currently being counted that way in the standings.

Saddleback is 8-4-2, 4-1-1 in conference. Rancho Santiago is 11-5-1, 4-4-1.

The confusion started Friday after it was announced the game would be resumed where it was called, when Rancho Santiago returns to Saddleback March 31 for another game.

So, which scenario is right?

The conference rules are of little help because a case for both could be made.

One rule states that suspended games should be completed the next time the teams meet at the same site.

In another paragraph in the rule book it states that games such as this one should be counted as a tie and not finished unless they have a direct impact on the standings.

A decision is expected from Johnson by the end of the week.

No way, San Jose: For the first time in three seasons, an Orange Empire Conference team will not be among the final eight in the men’s State basketball tournament field. The tournament is being played at San Jose State.

Rancho Santiago and Saddleback each fell a game short. Cerritos eliminated the Dons, 87-76, and Ventura downed Saddleback, 88-72, Saturday.

The first-round games: Cerritos (30-4) vs. Columbia (29-7), Long Beach (30-5) vs. San Jose City (21-10), Ventura (30-5) vs. Lassen (26-8) and Compton (28-5) vs. West Valley (29-2).

Game times have yet to be announced.

Long Beach and Compton will be making their second consecutive tournament appearances after each lost to Rancho Santiago last season.

Contact hitter: Fullerton sophomore second baseman Ramon Apodaca has gone without striking out in 82 at-bats.

He is batting .378 (31 for 82), and has walked seven times. He has a streak of 100 at-bats without striking out dating to last season.

Apodaca, a second-team All-Orange Empire Conference pick, struck out only nine times in 164 at-bats last season, when he batted .299 with 33 walks.

No-contact pitcher: Orange Coast sophomore pitcher Alisha Nelson has been impressive. She has a 6-2 record, but both losses were a result of unearned runs.

She has no-hitters against Golden West and Riverside and has allowed 15 hits in 61 innings. She has five shutouts. Nelson, from Woodbridge High, was 22-8 last season and selected to the All-Southern California team.

Add softball: Golden West will play host to a 16-team softball tournament that features Cypress, the defending state champion, and Central Arizona, the defending national champion.

In Friday’s first round: Central Arizona plays Taft, and Sierra plays Fullerton at noon; Napa plays Golden West, and San Diego Mesa plays Pasadena at 1:45 p.m.; Palomar plays El Camino, and West Valley plays Orange Coast at 3:30 p.m.; and Glendale plays Long Beach, and Cypress plays Consummes River at 5:15 p.m.

The tournament continues Saturday and the championship game begins at noon Sunday.

Community College Notes

Irvine Valley has called a press conference for 2 p.m. today during which it is expected to announce one of the worst-kept secrets in recent times--that former UC Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan has been selected to head the basketball program. . . . Sam Sabbara, a sophomore guard at Cypress, had 148 assists this season and 239 in his career, fifth-best on the all-time list for the Chargers. Sabbara also set the Cypress single-game mark with 14. . . . The Rancho Santiago men’s basketball team set a school single-season mark for three-point attempts at 632. Unfortunately, the Dons didn’t set the mark for three-pointers made. Rancho Santiago was 229 of 632 this season. Rancho Santiago made a record 251 of 606 attempts last season and there were four more games played then. . . . Greg Reynolds, a starting guard on Saddleback’s basketball team in the 1990-91 season, is playing on the college’s golf team this spring.